Aida Ruel
Aida is new to the Wayfinder Foundation. A paladin dedicated to the equality and liberty of all, she has an unusual talent of speaking directly into your mind...a bit unnerving, until you get used to it. Appearance Aida wears her long wavy hair pinned back, silvery-grey as if many more years weigh on her than her youthful face suggests. You quickly notice her light blue eyes, piercing and thoughtful. She is tall and athletic, with fair skin and a small scar on her left cheekbone. Her chainmail is unostentatious, with no emblems or decor other than the simplicity of fine craftsmanship. She also wears a brown traveler's cloak and sturdy boots, unadorned, well-worn, though cared for. Her voice is gentle yet confident. She can often be seen lost in thought, a half-smile on her mouth as she absently fingers a simple silver ring hanging from a chain around her neck. Fluff History Aida is originally from a small village in the east of Breland, from a human/half-elf family of no importance. Her father is a carpenter, her mother (now deceased) a barkeep, and she hasn't seen her brother (6 years older) since he left home without saying goodbye when she was 10. Serving as a Brelish soldier of insignificant rank, Aida was captured by a goblin clan during the war and enslaved by the Marguul in Darguun for nearly a decade. Shortly after the Treaty of Thronehold, after many years of quiet compliance and biding her time, Aida helped to lead several dozen slaves to freedom. After that, she devoted her life to furthering the cause of freedom and equality in this war-torn land in need of healing. One of her fellow escaped slaves was the child of a retired Wayfinder. Upon learning that Aida had taken her paladin oath, the grateful parent recommended Aida for inclusion in the Foundation. She feels unqualified for the honor, but is glad to serve and protect. Escape From Riedra On her first mission with the Wayfinders, Aida discovered that she is prone to terrible sea sickness. This might be her last ocean voyage for a while. She told many lies to the mind-reading Thousand Eyes during her interrogation in Riedra, aided by a pearl that allowed her to disguise her thoughts. Later, in Borutesh, she made contact with the resistance, including a kalashtar woman, Nivi, who was kind to her. (See Secrets). During the final showdown with an Inspired agent, Aida's first true friend among the Wayfinders, Thak, attempted to kill her under the influence of a dominate person spell. Aida was able to free his mind from this domination, and to help appease his guilt over the incident, she offered to return the favor sometime and try to kill him. She was otherwise quite ineffectual in the battle, much to her frustration, as she had envisioned herself a grand warrior striking down the Dreaming Dark. Instead, she was just a girl with an unbloodied sword. Unbeknownst to her, as the Wayfinders left Riedra and the hanbalani altas behind, Aida was left with a faint imprint on her mind (a single assimilation point, which her DM will certainly cash in at the worst possible moment). She also took with her a small souvenir: a single earring in the shape of a scorpion's tail, taken from the changeling Ilir's body. Why Aida Is Unarmed Off-Mission After two "incidents", Aida no longer bears weapons in the Wayfinder Lounge: # Shortly after her return from Riedra, Aida nearly came to blows with Cicero in the Wayfinder Lounge. He made some thoughtless comments about slavery and exploiting street orphans for cheap labor, one thing led to another, and she drew her sword on him. She feels guilty about this. The confrontation perhaps bore some fruit, though, as Cicero, Reva and some others have spearheaded the creation of an orphanage and school for these children. # A few days after this, while Aida and her Riedra companions chatted in the lounge about their traumatic mission, Su cast detect thoughts on the Wayfinders. Her magic went undetected until she tried to probe Aida's mind more deeply (considered "misuse of magic" under the Galifar Code of Justice). Aida immediately suspected a Dreaming Dark spy in their midst, found Su hiding in a corner eavesdropping, and drew her sword. After ascertaining that Su was most likely just foolish, not malicious, she ran Su out of the lounge. She has only spoken to Su once since: "My life has been spent being controlled. My body has survived the slave camps of the Marguul. My mind has survived the assault of the Inspired. And I will not be enslaved, I will not be controlled. Stay out of my head. Keeper take you, I am free." Ketaal Over the first few months after her arrival at the Foundation, Aida slowly developed first a grudging respect, then friendship, with Ketaal, a hobgoblin and fellow Wayfinder. One evening, she drank a bit too much whilst deconstructing Cinnabar's artwork with him. During that encounter, he shared part of his life story with her, then paid her high honor with his words. She attempted to respond in kind, opening a link to his mind and speaking telepathically. Ketaal, a sworn enemy of the daelkyr and their works, mistook her talent with mind-magics for the taint of Xoriat. To resolve this misunderstanding, she offered to undergo any test necessary, leading to Ketaal stabbing her in the hand with a byeshk weapon. She considered his action completely honorable (though not without heartache), but Ketaal felt the utmost shame over upon realizing she was truly not fleshwarped. After slicing his own hand as penance, he fled into the night. The next day, Relic, Ivello and Aida found Ketaal in one of his old haunts, a military bar. Aida attempted to reconcile with him, but Ketaal, at the end of his rope, demanded that Aida let him die as a a dhakaani should and let him commit ritual suicide. Aida refused, instead demanding her right to repay the bloodshed in her method of choosing -- stabbing through his hand -- however, she is unwilling to let him bear the injury alone, as she still considers herself largely responsible for the original incident. So she stabs through both of their hands, reopening her wound, and creating a matching one on his hand. Over the next weeks and months, the two formed an increasingly close bond. In a humorous miscommunication in front of many other Wayfinders in the lounge, Ketaal presented Aida with the material component for warding bond, not realizing that giving a woman a beautiful platinum ring signified something significantly more than being staunch allies. Aida now wears the platinum band on her right hand, a match to a ring on Ketaal's right hand. After ongoing speculation on the part of other curious Wayfinders, it has recently become evident that the pair's friendship is something more. Secrets Players are welcome to read everything in this section. Just keep in mind that in-character, these are secrets that you would not know (unless your name is Thak or Ketaal) and should not refer to in game. The Real Backstory While enslaved in Darguun, Aida met Zeraveth, a kalashtar and fellow slave. They fell in love. In the year 997 YK, the Dreaming Dark succeeded in killing the last of Zeraveth's lineage, himself excepted. Ironically, his enslavement may have been all that protected the line of Aveth from extermination. Upon realizing this, Zeraveth felt a growing urgency to escape. Together, he and Aida planned and enacted, but Zeraveth fell while ensuring Aida's freedom and that of dozens of others. Upon his death, Aveth, his hashalaq quori spirit lingered with her... As Aida is a half-elf with no kalashtar blood, her initial connection with Aveth was tenuous, giving her limited telepathic and empathic abilities, only flickers of the greater psionic abilities of the kalashtar. However, his presence brought her serenity, knowing a part of her lost love remained with her. With the faint comfort came more discomfort, however, as she began coming to terms with her newfound freedom, crushing loss, and a fundamental identity shift all at once. Aida began following the Path of Light as best she knew how, though without a kalashtar community around her, her worldview has been largely shaped by her human/half-elf upbringing. Since her escape from slavery, she has dedicated her life as that of a paladin, swearing the Oath of Liberty. However, most of her powers come not from a divine source, but from the psionic ability granted by her quori bond. Since Joining the Wayfinders While on her first mission with the Wayfinder Foundation, Aida's psionic powers had not fully manifested, as her link with the spirit Aveth was tenuous, not the strong all-encompassing bond of a kalashtar. Her telepathy was limited to sending thoughts one-way, and her mind still touched Dal Quor every night, potentially lethal if the Dreaming Dark were to discover her. Aida met a shattered kalashtar, Nivi, and her spirit Ashana (formerly Nivishana, before their severing). Nivi was a resistance leader from the Riedran city of Borutesh. Perhaps because of her own brokenness, she immediately recognized Aida's true nature, that she and Aveth were not yet whole. Nivi gave oh-so-dangerous (but ultimately successful) guidance on how Aida could embrace the dreams of the Inspired, learning to embrace her own dual nature as well. Aida was slain in a shared dream between her party members and an evil quori - this dream-death ultimately severed her connection with Dal Quor, freeing her from future contact with that plane. Truly bonded with the hashalaq through this trial, Aida's psionic powers began to grow. This victory was mixed with mourning, however, for Aida realizes she will never meet Zeraveth in her dreams again. She is now whole, but at a price. The day her bond was made whole, Aida shared her deepest secret with Thak, a Talentan druid and fellow Wayfinder. She told him of her lost kalashtar lover, and something more... "He can never fade, not as long as I live. As he died, he left me a rare gift, an impossible burden. Today, I learned to carry it. His name was Zeraveth. Today, I am Aidaveth." Upon returning to Khorvaire, Aida visited the kalashtar enclave in Sharn and spoke with Havakhad at the shrine of il'Yannah. She did not reveal her full identity, but implied that she bore a message from Nivi, encouraging them that "the line of Aveth lives." While there, Aida was struck by the resemblance between Zeraveth and a young kalashtar woman at the meeting. After her second mission, Today As far as Aida knows, only four people know about the quori she has bonded with. One is Thak, a fellow Wayfinder and friend. The other, presumed dead, is a shattered kalashtar named Nivi. Aida does not guard the knowledge of her psionic abilities as closely, though few know of them. If the topic came up with a trusted companion, she might reveal general information about her kalashtar lover and their time in slavery. However, she would refer to him only as "Zera", concealing his lineage. ---- Traits, Ideals, Bonds & Flaws Personality Traits * "I am introverted, but comfortable around people of any station. I avoid positions of authority. I value the wisdom of others. When flustered, I sprinkle my speech with profanities in Goblin." Ideals * "Chains are meant to be broken, as are those who would forge them. All people have good in them and deserve to be treated with respect. Inquiry and curiosity are the pillars of progress." Bonds * "I protect those who cannot protect themselves. My lover sacrificed himself for the freedom of others; I will always honor his memory by doing the same." Flaws * "I would sacrifice anything to keep my freedom. After so many years of slavery, I'll say or do anything to avoid menial work." Crunch XP & Gold Log Inventory * Explorer's pack (10 gp) * Traveler's clothes - medium-brown cloak, dark-brown trousers, steel-blue long-sleeved shirt, medium-brown belt, brown boots (2 gp) * Simple teal dress with brown overcoat-dress-thing, brown slippers * 2 daggers * Belt pouch w/ coins * Chainmail (75 gp) * Longsword (15 gp) * Javelin x5 (5 sp each) * Shield (10 gp) * Ring on silver chain (personal item) * Valenar scimitar (25 gp - gift from Thak) * Contacts of Night (900 gp) * Component pouch (25 gp) * Ruby of the War Mage (90 gp) * Ilir's scorpion-tail earring Character Sheet * https://1drv.ms/b/s!Ar4dGgTTRzbJgopX72jJxFZ3xo4xsw Miscellaneous Notes * Aida has one "assimilation point" left from her Riedra mission, which DM Cephei and the Inspired can use at any moment to compromise her in mysterious ways. Oh goody. * Aida's build relies on a bit of refluffing. While in-character, Aida is a half-elf paladin with hidden psionic potential, relevant build details are as follows: ** Mechanical race is Kalashtar. (Aida no longer has the half-elf immunity to magical sleep, having traded it for a severance from dreams instead.) ** Class is Liberty Paladin 3 / Hexblade Warlock 1 *** In-character, all abilities come from psionic ability, not a god or warlock patron. Aida's abilities are mainly telepathic (e.g. lay on hands = "empathic transfer"). ** Darkvision from Goggles of Night *** allow functional "half-elf" darkvision while using Kalashtar race - but these are NOT visible in game (refluff approved by CoE), you can think of them as invisible contacts. ;) Picture Gallery aida.jpg|Aida Ruel, Paladin of Liberty zera.jpg|Zeraveth (deceased) aida-and-zera.jpg|Memories __FORCETOC__ __NOEDITSECTION__ Category:Characters